This study analyzed the effects of the combined psychological characteristics of risk-taking and sensation seeking on the travel behavior and preferred tourist activities of young adults on leisure trips. The results of this cross-cultural study, which was conducted among 1,429 students at 11 universities located in 11 different countries, found that respondents with high combined risk-taking and sensation seeking (RSS) scores differed significantly in their travel behavior, mode of destination choice, preferred tourist activities and demographics, from those who had low RSS scores. The study also discovered a significant difference between nationalities on RSS scores.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arnett, J. (1994). “Sensation Seeking: A New Conceptualization and a New Scale.” Personality and Individual Differences, 16 (2): 289-296 .
2.
Bouter, L., P. Knipschild, J. Feij, and A. Volovics (1988). “Sensation Seeking and Injury Risk in Downhill Skiing.” Personality and Individual Differences, 9, 667-673 .
3.
Brown, L., V. Ruder, S. Ruder, and S. Young (1974). “Stimulation Seeking and the Change Seeker Index.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 311 .
4.
Cherpitel, C. J. (1993). “Alcohol, Injury and Risk-Taking Behavior: Data from a National Sample.” Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 17 (4): 762-766 .
5.
Cook, R. L., and K. W. McCleary (1983). “Redefining Vacation Distances in Consumer Minds.” Journal of Travel Research, 22 (fall): 31-34 .
6.
Cossens, J., and S. Gin (1994). “Tourism and AIDS: The Perceived Risk of HIV Infection on Destination Choice.” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 3 (4): 1-20 .
7.
Ewert, A. W. (1989). Outdoor Adventure Pursuits: Foundations, Models, and Theories. Columbus, OH: Publishing Horizons .
8.
Ewert, A. W. (1994). “Playing the Edge: Motivation and Risk-Taking in a High-Altitude Wildernesslike Environment.” Environment & Behavior, 26 (1): 3-22 .
9.
Farley, F. (1986). “The Big T Personality.” Psychology Today, 4: 44-52 .
10.
Fontaine, G. (1994). “Presence seeking and sensation seeking as motives for international travel.” Psychological Reports, 75, 1583-1586 .
11.
Fowler, C., L. von Knorring, and L. Oreland (1980). “Platelet Mono-Amine Oxidase in Sensation Seekers.” Psychiatric Research, 3: 273-276 .
12.
Galloway, G., and K. Lopez (1999). “Sensation Seeking and Attitudes to Aspects of National Parks: A Preliminary Empirical Investigation.” Tourism Management, 20: 665-671 .
13.
Gilchrist, H., R. Povey, A. Dickinson, and R. Povey (1995). “The Sensation Seeking Scale: It’s Use in a Study of the Characteristics of People Choosing ‘Adventure Holidays.’” Personality and Individual Differences, 19 (4): 513-516 .
14.
Heyman, S., and K. Rose (1980). “Psychological Variables Affecting SCUBA Performance.” In Psychology of Motor Behavior and Sport, edited by C. A. Nadeau, W. R. Halliwell, K. M. Newell, and G. C. Roberts. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Press .
15.
Hymbaugh, K., and J. Garrett (1974). “Sensation Seeking Among Skydivers.” Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38: 118 .
16.
Jackson, D. N. (1994). Jackson Personality Inventory-Revised Manual. Port Huron, MI: Sigma Assessment Systems .
17.
Jackson, D. N., L. Hourany, and N. J. Vidmar (1972). “A Four-Dimensional Interpretation of Risk-Taking.” Journal of Personality, 40: 433-501 .
18.
Jenkins, S. R. (1999). Comparison of Risk Behavior across Different Groups: Further Validation of the Risk Behavior Scale. Ph.D. diss., University of Wyoming, Laramie.
19.
Jessor, R., and S. L. Jessor (1977). Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development: A Longitudinal Study. New York: Academic Press .
20.
Keinan, G., E. Meir, and T. Gome-Nemirovsky (1984). “Measurements of Risk Takers Personality.” Psychological Reports, 55: 163-167 .
21.
Klausner, S., ed. (1968). Why Men Take Chances. New York: Anchor .
22.
Knopf, R. (1983). “Recreational Needs and Behavior in Natural Settings.” In Behavior and the Natural Environment, edited by I. Altman and J. Wohlwill. New York: Plenum , pp. 205-240.
23.
Lee, T., and J. Crompton (1992). “Measuring Novelty Seeking in Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research, 19: 732-751 .
24.
Levinson, M. R. (1990). “Risk-Taking and Personality.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58: 1073-1080 .
25.
Lopes, L. L. (1994). “Psychology and Economics: Perspectives on Risk, Cooperation and the Marketplace.” Annual Review of Psychology, 45: 197-227 .
26.
Lyng, S. (1990). “Edgework: A Social Psychological Analysis of Voluntary Risk-Taking.” American Journal of Sociology, 95: 851-886 .
27.
Mansfeld, Y. (1992). “From Motivation to Actual Travel.” Annals of Tourism Research, 19 (3): 399-419 .
28.
Meier, J. (1978). “Is the Risk Worth Taking?” Leisure Today, 49 (4): 7-9 .
29.
Miles, J. (1978). “The Value of High Adventure Activities.” Journal of Physical Education and Recreation, 49 (4): 27-28 .
30.
Murgatroyd, S., C. Rushton, M. Apter, and C. Ray (1978). “The Development of the Telic Dominance Scale.” Journal of Personality Assessment, 42: 519-528 .
31.
Musolino, R., and D. Hershenson (1977). “Vocational Sensation Seeking in High and Low Risk-Taking Occupations . Journal of Vocational Behavior, 10: 358-365 .
32.
Pizam, A., A. Reichel, and N. Uriely (2002). “Sensation Seeking and Tourist Behavior.” Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, 9 (2): 17-33 .
33.
Plog, S. C. (1973). “Why Destination Areas Rise and Fall in Popularity.” Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 14: 13-16 .
34.
Plog, S. C. (1990). “A Carpenter’s Tools: An Answer to Stephen L. J. Smith Review of Psychocentrism/Allocentrism.” Journal of Travel Research, 28 (4): 43-45 .
35.
Plog, S. C. (1991a). “A Carpenter’s Tools Re-visited: Measuring Allocentrism and Psychocentrism Properly... the First Time.” Journal of Travel Research, 29 (4): 51 .
36.
Plog, S. C. (1991b). Leisure Travel: Making It a Growth Market... Again! New York: Wiley & Sons .
37.
Robinson, D. W. (1985). “Stress Seeking: Selected Behavioral Characteristics of Elite Rock Climbers.” Journal of Sports Psychology, 7: 400-404 .
38.
Roehl, W. S., and D. R. Fesenmaier (1992). “Risk Perceptions and Pleasure Travel: An Exploratory Analysis.” Journal of Travel Research, 30 (4): 17-26 .
39.
Shoham, A., G. Rose, and L. Kahle (2000). “Practitioners of Risky Sports: A Quantitative Examination.” Journal of Business Research, 47: 237-251 .
40.
Slovic, P. (1964). “Assessment of Risk-Taking Behavior.” Psychological Bulletin, 61: 220-233 .
41.
Smith, S. L. J. (1990a). “Another Look at the Carpenter’s Tools: A Reply to Plog.” Journal of Travel Research, 29 (2): 50-51 .
42.
Smith, S. L. J. (1990b). “A Test of Plog’s Allocentric/Psychocentric Model: Evidence from Seven Nations.” Journal of Travel Research, 28 (4): 40-43 .
43.
Straub, W. (1982). “Sensation Seeking among High and Low-Risk Male Athletes.” Journal of Sport Psychology, 4: 246-253 .
44.
Trimpop, R. M. (1994) The Psychology of Risk-Taking Behavior. Amsterdam: North Holland .
45.
Um, S., and J. L. Crompton (1990). “Attitude Determinants in Tourism Destination Choice.” Annals of Tourism Research, 17 (3): 432-448 .
46.
Walle, H. A. (1997). “Pursuing Risk or Insight: Marketing Adventures.” Annals of Tourism Research, 24 (2): 265-282 .
47.
Wang, W., Y. Wu, Z. Peng, S. Lu, L. Yu, G. Wang, X. Fu, and Y. Wang (2000). “Test of Sensation Seeking in a Chinese Sample.” Personality and Individual Differences, 28: 169-179 .
48.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language College Edition. (1960). New York: The World Publishing Company .
49.
Witte, K. (1994a). “Fear Control and Danger Control: An Empirical Test of the Extended Parallel Process Model.” Communication Monographs, 61: 113-134 .
50.
Witte, K. (1994b). “Generating Effective Risk Messages: How Scary Should Your Risk Communication Be?” Communication Yearbook, 18: 229-254 .
51.
Witte, K., K. A. Cameron, J. K. McKeon, and J. M. Berkowitz (1996). “Predicting Risk Behaviors: Development and Validation of a Diagnostic Scale.” Journal of Health Communication, 1 (4): 317-324 .
52.
Yates, J. F. (1992). “Epilogue.” In Risk-Taking Behavior, edited by J. F. Yates. New York: John Wiley & Sons , pp. 321-330.
53.
Zuckerman, M. (1979). Sensation Seeking: Beyond the Optimal Level of Arousal. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
54.
Zuckerman, M. (1983a). Biological Bases of Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity, and Anxiety. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
55.
Zuckerman, M. (1983b). “Sensation Seeking and Sports.” Personality and Individual Differences, 4: 285-293 .
56.
Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking. New York: Cambridge University Press .
57.
Zuckerman, M., and M. Neeb (1980). “Demographic Influences in Sensation Seeking and Expressions of Sensation Seeking in Religion, Smoking, and Driving Habits.” Personality and Individual Differences, 1: 197-206 .
58.
Zuckerman, M., D. Schultz, and T. Hopkins (1967). “Sensation Seeking and Volunteering for Sensory Deprivation and Hypnosis Experiments.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 31: 358-363 .
